It’s so hard for me to believe that the Christmas holidays are upon us and in 1 short week Gui and I will be en route to Paris to celebrate Christmas and ring in the new year with our family there. I am beyond stoked! I’ve already started a VIP list of places to visit and a seemingly endless list of things to bring back. It’s so funny how the tables have turned now that I’m back in the land of plenty Target Supercenters; I miss things like foie gras, baguette sandwiches and French hot chocolate instead of mac 'n cheese and salsa verde.

Time has been traveling at warp speed these past few weeks. Last week, I finished my final exam for the accounting course I’ve been taking, and I have to say I’ve never felt so free! Between night classes, homework and study-time, I’m happy to have some time back to myself again. Thanksgiving seems like it just came and went; Gui’s dad and step-mom came into town for that week, and, along with Gui, they experienced their first ever Thanksgiving in America. We enjoyed a beautiful feast at my uncle’s house full of family. It was a strange feeling not being in charge of hosting for once (I hosted Thanksgiving in Paris 2 out of the 3 years I lived there), but oh, how I’d missed my mom’s cornbread stuffing and banana pudding!

Of course, we were eating and entertaining non-stop while Gui’s family was in town, so time just flew by. And, now it’s December. For the first weekend in December, I flew up to Kansas to partake in a Christmas tradition for my sister and nephews – the Nutcracker Tea Party. I’d been dying to go with them ever since my sister started the tradition back in 2008…I mean it doesn’t get much cuter than watching my nephews all dressed up, drinking punch from champagne coupes while enjoying the ballet. And, the ballet performance (by an academy of 10-18 year-olds) was totally impressive, too. Watching it made me wish I’d been girly enough to learn ballet when I was a kid.

Here are a few photos of our Thanksgiving feast and from my time in Kansas. The next time I post, I'll either be in Paris or just returning, so stay tuned for Paris photos galore!